Waldo police officers allege ticket quota, other improprieties

Published: Wednesday, August 27, 2014 at 11:36 a.m.

Last Modified: Wednesday, August 27, 2014 at 11:36 a.m.

WALDO - The Waldo City Council on Tuesday night heard about an hour's worth of testimony from a supermajority of its police officers, who alleged that, in addition to enforcing an illegal ticket quota, their suspended chief falsified documents and his temporary replacement used city-owned video equipment to monitor his apartment complex.

Flanked by fellow officers, Waldo Police Officer Brandon Roberts led his presentation to the five City Council members with his top allegation that Chief Michael Szabo and City Manager Kim Worley had implemented a ticket quota, which is against state law.

“When it comes to people's property and the safety of others and taxpayers' money, those of us standing before you are doing the right thing,” Roberts told council members during a Tuesday night meeting.

On Aug. 12, Szabo was placed on administrative leave after the Florida Department of Law Enforcement launched an investigation against him on an allegation of violating police procedures. Neither Worley nor FDLE officials have been willing to provide details in the case, citing an active investigation. The five officers who brought allegations Tuesday night against Szabo, Worley and Waldo Police Cpl. Kenneth Smith said they did not know the details of the FDLE investigation.

Roberts alleged in his presentation that Szabo regularly lied on his timesheet and would disable a GPS device on his city-owned vehicle – violating department policy – to cloak his location.

Roberts also claimed Szabo used a cooler in his office to store drug evidence and not a secure room commonly used by other departments. This placed the evidence within reach of civilian employees.

“As you know, we have a cleaning service, and all of this evidence was well within reach,” Roberts said. “The odor from the bongs inside the cooler was very strong.”

The cooler of bongs disappeared after Szabo was suspended, Roberts said.

Worley last week appointed Cpl. Smith as interim chief. Roberts, who was his roommate, provided council members with pictures of city-owned video cameras installed at his apartment complex, Waldo Villa Apartments. Roberts also claimed Smith operated the cameras and others throughout the city with a phone application.

“He told me to download the app, and I did, but once I realized what it did, I deleted it,” Roberts said.

Roberts also claimed Szabo and Smith stayed in lavish resorts while attending official police events in South Florida that charged the city for accommodations that were well outside prudent police per diem guidelines. Smith also had a penchant for stealing hotel towels, said Roberts, who provided council members with photos of large piles of white towels with tags attached from brands such as the Hampton Inn and JW Marriott.

“JW Marriott – this is just an example of the types of places he was staying on the city's dime,” Roberts said.

Smith responded to Roberts' claim by noting that the hotel bill for at least one of the trips was paid by Mothers Against Drunk Driving.

Roberts began his presentation by outlining the one-ticket-per-hour quota Waldo officers were ordered to follow, which is against Florida statute. Each officer works a 12-hour shift.

“We're under this 12-ticket quota when all we want to do is serve the public,” Roberts said after the meeting. “It's exhausting, demoralizing, and we're burnt out.”

Roberts said officers brought their concerns to Worley in 2010, but they were ignored. City Council members said they were not sure what to do.

“You're our next chain of command,” Roberts told the council. “We did not know what else to do.”

Waldo has long been labeled as a speed trap. In 2012, the Alachua County town of roughly 1,000 residents was rated the third-worst speed trap in the U.S. and Canada, according to a poll conducted by the National Motorists Association.

A copy of the Waldo city budget showed that for the roughly $1 million general revenue for the current fiscal year, $464,400 came from “police revenue.” The estimate for the tentative upcoming budget forecasts the same amount of revenue from the police department, while property tax returns are expected to sag.

<p>WALDO - The Waldo City Council on Tuesday night heard about an hour's worth of testimony from a supermajority of its police officers, who alleged that, in addition to enforcing an illegal ticket quota, their suspended chief falsified documents and his temporary replacement used city-owned video equipment to monitor his apartment complex.</p><p>Flanked by fellow officers, Waldo Police Officer Brandon Roberts led his presentation to the five City Council members with his top allegation that Chief Michael Szabo and City Manager Kim Worley had implemented a ticket quota, which is against state law.</p><p>“When it comes to people's property and the safety of others and taxpayers' money, those of us standing before you are doing the right thing,” Roberts told council members during a Tuesday night meeting.</p><p>On Aug. 12, Szabo was placed on administrative leave after the Florida Department of Law Enforcement launched an investigation against him on an allegation of violating police procedures. Neither Worley nor FDLE officials have been willing to provide details in the case, citing an active investigation. The five officers who brought allegations Tuesday night against Szabo, Worley and Waldo Police Cpl. Kenneth Smith said they did not know the details of the FDLE investigation.</p><p>Roberts alleged in his presentation that Szabo regularly lied on his timesheet and would disable a GPS device on his city-owned vehicle – violating department policy – to cloak his location.</p><p>Roberts also claimed Szabo used a cooler in his office to store drug evidence and not a secure room commonly used by other departments. This placed the evidence within reach of civilian employees.</p><p>“As you know, we have a cleaning service, and all of this evidence was well within reach,” Roberts said. “The odor from the bongs inside the cooler was very strong.”</p><p>The cooler of bongs disappeared after Szabo was suspended, Roberts said.</p><p>Worley last week appointed Cpl. Smith as interim chief. Roberts, who was his roommate, provided council members with pictures of city-owned video cameras installed at his apartment complex, Waldo Villa Apartments. Roberts also claimed Smith operated the cameras and others throughout the city with a phone application.</p><p>“He told me to download the app, and I did, but once I realized what it did, I deleted it,” Roberts said.</p><p>Roberts also claimed Szabo and Smith stayed in lavish resorts while attending official police events in South Florida that charged the city for accommodations that were well outside prudent police per diem guidelines. Smith also had a penchant for stealing hotel towels, said Roberts, who provided council members with photos of large piles of white towels with tags attached from brands such as the Hampton Inn and JW Marriott.</p><p>“JW Marriott – this is just an example of the types of places he was staying on the city's dime,” Roberts said.</p><p>Smith responded to Roberts' claim by noting that the hotel bill for at least one of the trips was paid by Mothers Against Drunk Driving.</p><p>Roberts began his presentation by outlining the one-ticket-per-hour quota Waldo officers were ordered to follow, which is against Florida statute. Each officer works a 12-hour shift.</p><p>“We're under this 12-ticket quota when all we want to do is serve the public,” Roberts said after the meeting. “It's exhausting, demoralizing, and we're burnt out.”</p><p>Roberts said officers brought their concerns to Worley in 2010, but they were ignored. City Council members said they were not sure what to do.</p><p>“You're our next chain of command,” Roberts told the council. “We did not know what else to do.”</p><p>Waldo has long been labeled as a speed trap. In 2012, the Alachua County town of roughly 1,000 residents was rated the third-worst speed trap in the U.S. and Canada, according to a poll conducted by the National Motorists Association.</p><p>A copy of the Waldo city budget showed that for the roughly $1 million general revenue for the current fiscal year, $464,400 came from “police revenue.” The estimate for the tentative upcoming budget forecasts the same amount of revenue from the police department, while property tax returns are expected to sag.</p><p>Worley did not immediately return phone calls made Wednesday morning.</p>